We hope you enjoy this issue’s stories about playwriting, role-playing, magical realism, the woes and wonders of a good editor, tips from paperback writers and much more about the life and craft of writers.

Eliot said: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” We hope this issue finds you sitting with writers whose work engages you and pushes you far. And again farther.

Whether on a beach watching the sunrise, around the table in the writers’ room, at your work space in the midst of family chaos or alone in your cave, inspiration is the invaluable element of all writing.

Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, librarians, friends and community leaders all play a role in literacy. And so do writers. That last group – the writers – is the topic for this issue. If you’ve written a children’s book, middle grade book or YA book – or if you want to – you’ve come to the right place.